Appearances
by Cariel
Summary: While Anakin has always sought to free the galaxy and be the Republic's hero, Dormé has sought to protect his good name on the homefront.


Weeks after Dormé last saw Anakin, he was finally coming back to Coruscant. Dormé always kept up with the holonews while he was away, watching for any mention of the Jedi hero. She was so proud of him and though she knew the reporters didn't ever know the whole story of his escapades—because she always delighted in hearing it straight from Anakin whenever he was home—she still drank in every word, glad to hear that they thought highly of him. It was the least he deserved, in her opinion.

As much as the reporters knew, there was also so much that they were clueless about, things that Anakin would never speak of. While Dormé knew that the public was naive and unaware of the struggles Anakin went through, she was also thankful that they continued to have the unspotted view of their hero. Anakin often disagreed with her about this, but Dormé felt that with all of the horrible things happening during the war, the people, especially the children, needed to have someone to look up to, someone to give them hope.

Dormé smiled as she shut off the holonews and checked her appearance in the mirror before leaving to meet up with Anakin. Since she wasn't a senator or important political figure, Dormé wasn't allowed into the assembly area where the officials went to speak with the two Jedi, the inseparable team of Skywalker and Kenobi, so she had to be a little sneaky. Dormé didn't even consider the idea that she could have easily dressed as her mistress and paraded inside without anyone giving her a second look. Instead, she darted between people filing out of the building, hiding behind pillars and statues, peeking around to see if she could spot Anakin.

The transport slid to a halt and she saw him. Journalists and political figures, all wanting to speak to him, quickly surrounded the young man. Though she could see even from this distance that he was smiling, she could tell he was just doing his duty and that he was not at all interested in speaking to them any longer than necessary. She tried to get his attention by waving at him, but he was too caught up in their insistence to see her.

Someone else just as newsworthy as the young Jedi Knight came across their line of sight. It was Senator Amidala and her train of security officials. The senator was on her way to a meeting with a few other like-minded senators in one of the buildings nearby and the reporters began asking the Jedi about his opinion on political matters, as though trying to get him to speak to the senator, so they could have some shots of the senator and him together. It was as though the media itself longed to see scandal in person, something just as newsworthy if not a little demeaning of both the senator and Jedi's character. Though they simultaneously wanted a perfect, untouchable hero that gave so many people hope, it seemed they also wanted to humanize him, to see faults and weaknesses.

Dormé overheard all of it and was glad when Anakin finally escaped their clutches. Though it was quick, and otherwise dismissible, she caught his eyes and sent him a reassuring smile before ducking back inside the building she emerged from. She didn't want to draw anymore unnecessary attention to Anakin.

Once he was by her side, she slipped her hand into his, mindful of the security cameras. 'I say we're both in need of a holiday.' Though they might disagree on revealing their relationship to the public, Dormé didn't want to cause anything to soil Anakin's reputation. It wasn't that she wanted to be fake or to lie, but that she wanted to protect him. Though he was responsible for so many other lives, she felt responsible for his. She might not be able to be out there on the battlefield fighting alongside him, but she fought a battle for his honour at home, to keep his record free from slander.

She agreed, however, to take the Skywalker name the very moment they married and resolved to continue serving her lady and the Republic, until Amidala had no more use for her. There were no formal announcements or grand public gestures of their nuptials. In fact, it took quite a bit longer than Dormé expected for the rumours to get out. However, instead of the fact that Anakin married Dormé, the holonews seemed to think that he had married his long-time friend, Senator Amidala of Naboo.

Anakin was in the shower when Dormé heard this announcement over the holonews. At first she laughed, but then she began to wonder if there wasn't some merit in what the reporters were saying.

As Anakin towelled off and came back to the bedroom, the news rapidly shut off. 'What is it?' he asked, looking at her quizzically.

Propping her head up with her elbow as she remained lying on the bed, she asked, 'Are we really such an odd couple?'

'What do you mean?'

'You're the Hero With No Fear, the Chosen One—whatever they call you—and I'm just a nobody...a handmaiden...They expect you to be with someone more—with someone worthier of their saviour than me.' She knew that she shouldn't care what they thought. In truth, it was laughable, but it also hurt to think that the public refused to believe that someone like him could love a nobody like her.

'What's brought this on?'

'The holonews.'

'They're full of it; you know that.'

'I know, but they say that you married Padmé,' she said.

He laughed.

'I'm serious. They think you should be with someone like a senator, someone with power, with nobility, from a good family....and...well...' She fell silent for a moment. 'As wrong as it is, I think it's for the best to let them think that—just let them believe whatever they want since they're all a bunch of liars and idiots anyway. I want you to know that it's enough for me to know that you're mine and I'm yours. And someday, all of this will be behind us...the war, the reports... Someday, it will just be the two of us...or maybe three of us...'

'That's what makes this war worth fighting for,' he replied.

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him before his hair, which was a little long now, tickled her neck and she started laughing.


End file.
